GOLF
International Series to host $2 million event in Gurugram
The International Series will host a $2 million golf event at the DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram, with some of the biggest stars of LIV Golf and Asian Tour, from January 30 to February 2.
The leading star of LIV Golf, Anirban Lahiri will compete in the event. It will be the first of the ten events of the 2025 season of the International Series, and prior to the LIV Golf’s season opener scheduled in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from February 6 to 8.
“It is very exciting for me to be associated with this event. DLF has been such a wonderful host for over 15 years. We have had some amazing events. The goal would be to have a really good field to showcase what we are trying to do,” said Anirban Lahiri in an interaction with the media.
“This ground breaking partnership with LIV Golf and The International Series brings best-in-class sporting event to India. We are confident that the course will offer the world’s best a stern test and we look forward to welcoming golf fans from around the world,” said DLF’s Joint Managing Director, Aakash Ohri.
“It is no secret that India is a key market in world golf. Partnering with DLF to bring this tournament to the subcontinent is a landmark effort for us,”, said The Head of The International Series, Rahul Singh.
“The International Series events are blue chip events on the calendar.
It is a major milestone to have this event at the DLF Golf and Country Club next year. It will offer something new for the players to enjoy,” said the CEO of Asian Tour, Cho Minn Thant.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
TABLE TENNIS
Top paddlers absent at the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis tournament
The absence of some top paddlers have taken the sheen out of the UTT National Ranking Table Tennis tournament which gets underway at the Jimmy George indoor stadium on Thursday.
Harmeet Desai, Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula have chosen to play in international tournaments to boost their rankings and have skipped this event. G. Sathiyan, fresh from his triumph in Inter Institutional championships, is the top seed and will renew his rivalry with Manav Thakkar. Sathiyan beat Manav in the final in the Inter Institutional championships and they are seeded number one and two respectively in the men’s section. Manush Shah, the semifinalist in Inter Institutional TT, Ankur Bhattacharjee, Sourav Saha, Payas Jaini are other prominent players in the men’s section.
National inter Inter Institutional singles champion Swastika Ghosh will be looking to continue her winning run. However, Swastika, who is the fourth seed, will have to face tough challenges from Diya Chitale, Yashwini Ghorpade and Baisya Poymantee.
Apart from men and women’s events, the competition will be held in under-11, under-13, under-15, under-17 and under-19 categories in the eight-day tournament. Kerala Legislative Assembly speaker A.N. Shamsheer will inaugurate the tournament which is organised by Table Tennis Association of Kerala (TTAK).
-Praveen Chandran
MORE SPORTS
SBI honours 29 Paralympic medallists
The State Bank of India (SBI) presented cash awards to the 29 medallists of the Paris Paralympics at a felicitation function on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Tuesday.
“India’s performance at the Paralympics marked a defining moment in our nation’s sporting journey. These athletes have redefined what is possible through sheer determination and resilience, breaking barriers and inspiring a nation. At SBI, we are honoured to support these champions and are committed to nurturing talent and building a more inclusive, thriving ecosystem for Indian sports,”, said the Chairman of SBI, CS Setty.
As part of its support, the SBI in collaboration with the Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Cororation of India (ALIMCO) has planned to distribute assistive devices to approximately 9,000 persons across the country, in the current financial year.
- Kamesh Srinivasan
HOCKEY
Comptroller and Auditor General XI confirms semifinal berth
Comptroller and Auditor General XI confirmed its semifinal berth with a 7-3 victory over Central Bureau of Direct Taxes in a quarterfinal league match of the SNBP 60th Nehru hockey tournament at the Shivaji Stadium on Wednesday.
Nabin Kujur (3) and Deepak Malik (2) did the bulk of the scoring for the CAG XI.
The results (quarterfinal league): Comptroller and Auditor General XI 7 (Nabir Kujur 3, Deepak Malik 2, Bharath Kurtakoti, NM Surya) bt Central Bureau of Direct Taxes 3 (Pranam Gowda, Vikash Choudhary, Samir Khan).
RSPB 4 (Gursahibjit Singh 2, Pratap Lakra, Pankaj) bt Army XI 2 (Sumeet Pal, Cyril Lugun).
-Kamesh Srinivasan
TENNIS
Tennis Premier League: Sonmez guides Eagles to win over Rangers
Zeynep Sonmez, the world No.90, played a significant role in helping Yash Mumbai Eagles to a 54-46 victory over the formidable Rajasthan Rangers in a preliminary match of the Tennis Premier League at the CCI on Wednesday.
Zeynep Sonmez, the star for Mumbai Eagles in its victory over Rajasthan Rangers in the TPL in Mumbai on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 22-year-old from Turkey, Zeynep won her singles 17-8 against Cristina Dinu. Later she partnered Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan for an entertaining 15-10 victory over Rohan Bopanna and Cristina in the mixed doubles.
However, it was Hyderabad Strikers that rose to the top of the table after two days of action, with a 55-45 win over Chennai Smashers that took its tally to 112 points. Vishnu Vardhan played a key role in winning the mixed doubles and doubles matches with Harriet Dart and Benjamin Lock respectively.
For Gujarat Panthers, Ekaterina Kazionova made the difference, in the team’s 54-46 victory over Punjab Patriots, by outplaying Akanksha Nitture 19-6. Punjab did win with S Mukund beating Sumit Nagal 15-10, and Mukund and Saketh Myneni beating Sumit and Vijay Sundar Prashanth 15-10, but the difference was hard to bridge.
The results (league):
Bengaluru SG Pipers bt Bengal Wizards 52-48 (Gabriela Knutson lost to Kamilla Rakhimova 11-14; Bernabe Miralles lost to Niki Poonacha 12-13; Gabriela & Anirudh Chandrasekar bt Kamilla & Sriram Balaji 14-11; Bernabe & Anirudh bt Balaji & Poonacha 15-10).
Gujarat Panthers bt Punjab Patriots 54-46 (Ekaterina Kazionova bt Akanksha NItture 19-6; Sumit Nagal lost to S Mukund 10-15; Kazionova & Vijay Sundar Prashanth bt Akanksha & Saketh Myneni 15-10; Sumit & Vijay lost to Mukund & Saketh 10-15).
Hyderabad Strikers bt Chennai Smashers 55-45 (Harriet Dart bt Conny Perrin 14-11; Benjamin Lock lost to Hugo Gaston 11-14; Dart & Vishnu Vardhan bt Rithvik Bollipalli & Conny 16-9; Benjamin & Vishnu bt Gaston & Rithvik 14-11).
Yash Mumbai Eagles bt Rajasthan Rangers 54-46 (Zeynep Sonmez bt Cristina Dinu 17-8; Karan Singh lost to Arthur Fery 11-14; Zeynep & Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan bt Cristina & Rohan Bopanna 15-10; Karan & Jeevan lost to Arthur & Bopanna 11-14).
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Samarth Sahita bounces back to beat top seed Arnav Paparkar
Samarth Sahita bounced back from the brink of defeat to beat the top seed Arnav Paparkar 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2 in the boys pre-quarterfinals of the ITF junior tennis tournament at the Deccan Gymkhana on Wednesday.
in the quarterfinals, Samarth will face Vihaan Reddy of USA, who put Egor Shcherbakov. Champion of the last tournament Arjun Rathi, Sehaj Singh Pawar and Aarjun Pandit were the other Indians to make the quarterfinals.
In the girls section, qualifier Sai Janvi beat sixth seed Eva Kaliadina 6-3, 6-2. Champion of the last two tournaments, Rishitha Basireddy, Parthsarthi Mundhe, Aishwarya Jadhav and Nainika Bendram were the other Indian girls to make the quarterfinals.
The results (pre-quarterfinals):
Under-18 boys: Samarth Sahita bt Arnav Paparkar 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2; Vihaan Reddy (USA) bt Egor Shcherbakov 6-4, 6-4; Arjun Rathi bt Cody Atkinson (Nzl) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5; Sehaj Singh Pawar bt Izyan Ahmad (USA) 6-2, 6-4; Aarjun Pandit bt Snir Morag (Isr) 7-6(5), 7-6(5); Fedor Altukhov bt Shanker Heisnam 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3; Aaron Gabet (Fra) bt Venkat Rishi Batlanki (USA) 3-6, 3-0 (retired); Alan Aiukhanov bt Kandhavel Mahalingam 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.
Under-18 girls: Aoi Watanabe (Jpn) bt Alexandra Bayuschenko 3-6, 6-0, 3-1 (retired); Parthsarthi Mundhe bt Raja Sarvagnya Kilaru 6-2, 6-0; Yasaman Yazdani (Iri) bt Yuzuha Negishi (Jpn) 6-4, 7-5; Nelli Ivanova bt Laxmisiri Dandu 6-3, 7-6(3); Aishwarya Jadhav bt Harithashree Venkatesh 7-5, 6-3; Nainika Bendram bt Snigdha Kanta 6-2, 6-4; Sai Janvi bt Eva Kaliadina 6-3, 6-2; Rishitha Basireddy to Cocomi Saito (Jpn) 6-2, 6-4.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
Tanisha Kashyap defeats Vivien Sandberg
Tanisha Kashyap scored a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Vivien Sandberg of Germany in the first round of the $15,000 ITF women’s tennis tournament in Stellenbosch, South Africa, on Wednesday.
Tanisha had also made the doubles quarterfinals earlier in partnership with Elena Namshidi of Denmark.
The results:
$100,000 ITF women, Dubai, UAE
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Zhibek Kulambayeva (Kaz) & Ankita Raina bt Arianne Hartono (Ned) & Prarthana Thombare 6-3, 5-7, [10-7]; Anastasia Zolotareva & Rada zolotareva bt Shrivalli Bhamidipaty & Evialina Laskevich 6-2, 7-5.
$15,000 ITF women, Stellenbosch, South Africa Singles (first round): Tanisha Kashyap bt Vivien Sandberg (Ger) 6-3, 6-3.
Doubles (pre-quarterfinals): Elena Jamshidi (Den) & Tanisha Kashyap bt Kaat Coppez (Bel) & Elizaveta Shebekina 6-2, 6-1.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
HANDBALL
Asian women’s handball championship: Iran defeats India in Group B match
The Iran team came up with a spirited performance to beat host India 32-30, after leading 16-15 at half time in a group-B league match of the 20th Asian women’s handball championship at the KD Jadhav arena of the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday.
Nastaran Koudzarifarahani top scored for the Iran team with seven goals, while Sefareh Rahmanian, Hdiseh Khorzoughi and Arezou Kiyaniara pumped five goals each.
For India, Bhawana continued to be the key performer with seven goals, while Menika, Priyanka Thakur, Shalini Thakur, Gulshan Sharma, Priyanka scored four goals each, and Sushma slotted three.
With Japan as the formidable team in the group, the loss to Iran was a knock-out punch for India’s aspirations to make the semifinals and qualify for the World Championship next year.
The third day of the league phase will be played on Friday, after a day’s rest.
The results (league):
Group-A: Korea bt Kazakhstan 30-20; China bt Singapore 47-10.
Group-B: Japan bt Hong Kong 47-6; Iran bt India 32-30.
-Kamesh Srinivasan
BASKETBALL
National youth basketball championships: Karnataka boys, girls in finals
Title holder Tamil Nadu and Karnataka set up a repeat of last year’s girls’ final in the National youth basketball championships at the Sabuj Sathi Indoor Stadium, Howrah, on Wednesday.
Tamil Nadu, which led a keenly-fought affair 39-31 at half-time, beat Kerala 73-62, while Karnataka defeated Maharashtra 77-61 in the semifinals.
Karnataka had a fine day as its boys also made it to the summit clash after getting the better of Haryana 84-77 in the last four.
Karnataka boys will meet defending champion Rajasthan, which beat Tamil Nadu 88-54.
The results (semifinals): Boys: Rajasthan 88 (Piyush Choudhary 25, Bhupendra Singh Rathore 18, Zuber Khan 12) bt Tamil Nadu 54 (Priyadarsan A.R. 12, R. Hariram 12); Karnataka 84 ( Khushal Singh 28, Adhithya Shenoi 16, Samarth Manur 15, Viabhav Gowda 14, Harsh Yatish 11) bt Haryana 77 (Chirag 23, Veer Singh 16, Rahul 16, Shekhar Rathee 15).
Girls: Tamil Nadu 73 (Jefrin A. 16, Sumitra Devi 15, Angelina Arun George 14) bt Kerala 62 (Arthika K. 25, Vaugha T. 15); Karnataka 77 (Nithi Umesh 16, Tanushree Taum 16, Deepika P.P. 15, Mahek Sharma 11) bt Maharashtra 61 (Aarya Phatangare 25, Reva Kulkarni 17)
-Team Sportstar
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